Antonneous Clayton works up a sweat during preseason camp this week. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Five Questions with ... Gators defensive end Antonneous Clayton
Thursday, August 9, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
You've got the Pilot Travel Center on one side when you exit onto Route 215. If you go the other way and head toward East Union Street, the Cotton Museum and Dollar General Market store are a short drive.
Still, Vienna had its share of visitors back in the fall of 2015. Most of them headed straight toward Dooly County High up on U.S. 41. That's where defensive lineman Antonneous Clayton went to work on Friday nights.
Clayton racked up 77 tackles, 27 tackles for loss and nine sacks to earn a spot on the Georgia Class A All-State Team and an invitation to the Under-Armour All-American Game in Orlando.
Getting in the grill of opposing quarterbacks was no problem for Clayton, a dominant presence who signed with the Gators with visions of doing the same in college. Of course, sometimes visions don't turn out as imagined.
Clayton enters his junior season at Florida with 10 tackles and a sack in 14 career games. Some of those coaches on the recruiting trail three years ago saw Clayton come close to matching those numbers in a single game.
To boost the chances of a career liftoff this season, Clayton cranked up the volume. At the training table and in the weight room.
When the Gators released their updated roster after a summer with Florida's new strength and conditioning staff, no player added more weight than the 6-foot-3 Clayton, who played at 220 pounds last season. Clayton has packed 35 pounds onto his frame to withstand the rigors of facing the beefy offensive lineman of the Southeastern Conference.
He also made another change. Clayton switched from No. 90 to No. 77.
"Actually, the story behind that, my high school coach, Coach [Jimmy] Hughes, when we were picking out jerseys, he looked at me and said, 'oh, I got you, here you go,' and he just threw it to me.
"I hated it. But eventually, I would be in games in high school, making plays and it would be like, 'who is this 77 guy? He has such an ugly number.' Then I'd go out there and make plays and they'd be like, 'OK, we have to stop this guy.' "
Clayton and first-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would like to hear those kind of comments again.
In our latest installment of "five questions," Clayton takes a turn at the mic (edited for clarity):
Q: What do you like about lining up some at Buck position in camp?
A: [Grantham] just likes that I'm kind of agile and wants me standing up or with my hand in the dirt. But it's primarily the same thing [as playing on strong side]. One is more agile than the other with the Buck moving around, covering guys, while the end stays in playing technique, pad rush as well.
Q: What are your thoughts on this defense being able to make a quick turnaround?
A: We lost some guys and had [a] first-round pick, but we have some guys who are willing to step up like Elijah Conliffe, [T.J.] Slaton, we just got a transfer, Adam Shuler, who is playing three-technique. Those guys are able to play behind a guy like [Khairi] Clark, who is a senior and is the oldest on the line and knows how things run around here. We should be a more solid defensive line. We just got to stop the run. The pass game, we have tremendous pass rushers: me, Jachai [Polite], Jabari [Zuniga], Cece [Jefferson]. The pass rushers are there.
Q: What's the outlook for the projected backups, yourself included?
A: My thing is I'm here to play a role. I'm not really focused on myself. I'm more for the team. I want to win championships. The thing about that is championship teams, a lot of guys get drafted. Guys on NFL teams want guys that win games. That's just the bottom line. Whatever I can do to help my team win a championship I'm going to do that. If it involves me, you know, playing a role, anything, special teams, it doesn't matter to me.
Q: What's the adjustment been to Grantham's intense coaching style?
A: It depends on the player, you know? It depends on their background, what their used to, their high school coach. Some guys come from high school and they're used to getting yelled at. They're used to getting chewed out. Some guys, they come from high school and they're not used to getting yelled at, getting chewed out. It's a huge change for them. At the end of the day it's up to the older guys to tell them that he just wants you to be good, do your job and be the best player you can possibly be. Just take coaching. That's all you can do.
Q: How has becoming a father changed your outlook?
A: Totally different. I realized it's not about me anymore. That was my mindset from the beginning. It's not about me it's about the team. Having him I just want to try to be the best that I can be on and off the field. I'm setting an example for him. What I do is going to affect him and vice versa. It's a huge change for me. It's a huge boost in energy. I'll be tired on the field and be like, I got a son at home and he's depending on me to bring home the bread. I just don't get tired anymore.
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